Method for an inventor and patent agent to collaborate in preparaing a patent application

Abstract

A processing center establishes a link over the internet between the inventor and an independent the patent agent structuring a set of claims and partial sections of a patent application to be returned by the processing center to the inventor for final editing. The picture claim is copied into the description and old elements before a coded phrase in the broad is copied into the prior art section while the new element after the coded phrase are copied into the summary section; all of which is returned by the processing center to the inventor combined with an inventor-computer word processing program for editing by the inventor. The inventor-computer word processing program is tied to the set of claims for preventing use of the inventor-computer word processing program with other documents. The processing center assigns subject matter classification numbers to inventor disclosures and to patent agents for avoiding a conflict by a patent agent.

1 . A method for an inventor and patent agent to collaborate in preparing a patent application comprising;
 imbedding a template setting forth sections of a patent application in a patent computer program including a prior art section and a summary section and a description section and a claims section,   drafting a set of claims in the claims section of the template including a first claim reciting at least one concluding limitation recited after a coded phrase “characterized by” and at least one supporting limitation recited before the coded phrase “characterized by” and successive claims dependent on the broad claim with each dependent claim reciting an additional limitation and an independent picture claim containing all of the same verbiage used in the broad and dependent claims,   imbedding code in the computer program for recognizing the coded phrase “characterized by” and the at least one concluding limitation and the at least one supporting limitation,   operating the patent computer program to copy the entire picture claim and paste only the entire picture claim into the description section of the template,   operating the patent computer program to recognize the coded phrase “characterized by” and copy the at least one supporting limitation recited before the coded phrase “characterized by” of the first claim and paste only the at least one supporting limitation into the prior art section of the template,   operating the patent computer program to recognize the coded phrase “characterized by” and copy the at least one concluding limitation recited after the coded phrase “characterized by” of the first claim and paste only the at least one concluding limitation into the summary section of the template,   operating a data processing center and establishing a link over the internet between an inventor and a patent agent both independent of the processing center,   receiving at the processing center a payment via the internet from the inventor and acceptance of a contract between the inventor and the processing center in which the processing center agrees to provide a set of claims and access to a version of the patent computer program for use by the inventor for final editing of the application,   receiving at the processing center via the internet an invention disclosure including the results of any patentability search from the inventor,   accepting a contract between the processing center and a selected and independent patent agent to prepare a set of claims based upon the invention disclosure,   receiving from the selected patent agent the set of claims including the first claim reciting the at least one concluding limitation recited after the coded phrase “characterized by” and the at least one supporting limitation recited before the coded phrase “characterized by” and the successive claims dependent on the first claim and the independent picture claim containing all of the same verbiage used in the first and dependent claims and partial sections of the patent application including the prior art section reciting the at least one supporting limitation and the summary section reciting the at least one concluding limitation and the description section reciting the independent picture claim,   providing the inventor an inventor-computer word processing program,   sending via the internet from the processing center the set of claims and partial sections of the patent application to the inventor for completion using the inventor-computer word processing program,   operating the inventor-computer word processing program by the inventor to apply a reference numeral to an element and automatically associate that reference numeral with all occurrences of the element in the description section and format the entire application to predetermined requirements, and   embedding a computer coded connection between the inventor-computer word processing program and the set of claims and partial sections of the patent application sent to the inventor for preventing use of the inventor-computer word processing program with documents other than the sent set of claims and partial sections of the patent application.   
     
     
         2 . (canceled) 
     
     
         3 . A method as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the embedding a computer coded connection is further defined as disabling the use of the inventor-computer word processing program in response to the set of claims being changed more than a predetermined percentage. 
     
     
         4 . A method for an inventor and patent agent to collaborate in preparing a patent application comprising;
 imbedding a template setting forth sections of a patent application in a patent computer program including a prior art section and a summary section and a description section and a claims section,   drafting a set of claims in the claims section of the template including a first claim reciting at least one concluding limitation recited after a coded phrase “characterized by” and at least one supporting limitation recited before the coded phrase “characterized by” and successive claims dependent on the broad claim with each dependent claim reciting an additional limitation and an independent picture claim containing all of the same verbiage used in the first and dependent claims,   imbedding code in the computer program for recognizing the coded phrase “characterized by” and the at least one concluding limitation and the at least one supporting limitation,   operating the patent computer program to copy the entire picture claim and paste the entire picture claim into the description section of the template,   operating the patent computer program to recognize the coded phrase “characterized by” and copy the at least one supporting limitation recited before the coded phrase “characterized by” of the first claim and paste the at least one supporting limitation into the prior art section of the of the template,   operating the patent computer program to recognize the coded phrase “characterized by” and copy the at least one concluding limitation recited after the coded phrase “characterized by” of the first claim and paste the at least one concluding limitation into the summary section of the template,   operating a data processing center and establishing a link over the internet between an inventor and a patent agent both independent of the processing center,   receiving at the processing center a payment via the internet from the inventor and acceptance of a contract between the inventor and the processing center in which the processing center agrees to provide a set of claims and access to a version of the patent computer program for use by the inventor for final editing of the application,   receiving at the processing center via the internet an invention disclosure including the results of any patentability search from the inventor,   accepting a contract between the processing center and a selected and independent patent agent to prepare a set of claims based upon the invention disclosure,   receiving from the selected patent agent the set of claims including the first claim reciting the at least one concluding limitation recited after the coded phrase “characterized by” and the at least one supporting limitation recited before the coded phrase “characterized by” and the successive claims dependent on the first claim and the independent picture claim containing all of the same verbiage used in the first and dependent claims and partial sections of the patent application including the prior art section reciting only the at least one supporting limitation and the summary section reciting only the at least one concluding limitation and the description section reciting only the independent picture claim,   providing the inventor an inventor-computer word processing program,   sending via the internet from the processing center the set of claims and partial sections of the patent application to the inventor for completion using the inventor-computer word processing program,   operating the inventor-computer word processing program by the inventor to apply a reference numeral to an element and automatically associate that reference numeral with all occurrences of the element in the description section and format the entire application to predetermined requirements,   assigning each invention disclosure received from an inventor an initial subject matter classification number and storing the initial subject matter classification number with the inventor identification in the processing center,   accessing a patent office classification system dividing technology by numbers into classes and sub-classes of technology and indicating the subject matter to be found in and excluded from a class and sub-class,   maintaining a patent agent data base on a computer by the processing center to identify patent agents,   inserting a subject matter classification number with each patent agent in the patent agent data base for each set of claims prepared by that patent agent for the processing center, and   conducting a conflict check for a selected patent agent by scanning the patent agent data base for a match between the initial subject matter classification number of the invention disclosure and all of the subject matter classification numbers assigned to the patent agent to avoid a subject matter conflict between inventors.   
     
     
         5 . A method as set forth in  claim 4  further comprising;
 receiving from the selected patent agent with the set of claims a patent-agent proposed subject matter classification number, and 
 reconciling the initial subject matter classification number associated with each inventor to agree with the patent agent subject matter classification number proposed from the patent agent. 
 
     
     
         6 . A method as set forth in  claim 4  further comprising;
 maintaining an association identification for each patent agent in the patent agent data base to identify patent agents in and with the same business association, 
 selecting the patent agent from the patent agent data base for processing the inventor disclosure and preparing the set of claims, 
 inserting a subject matter classification number with each association identification in the patent agent data base for each set of claims prepared by every patent agent in the same association identification of patent agents, 
 conducting a conflict check for that selected patent agent by scanning the patent agent and association identifications in the patent agent data base for a match between the initial subject matter classification number of the invention disclosure and all of the subject matter classification numbers assigned to the patent agent identification and the patent agent's association identification to avoid a subject matter conflict between inventors, and 
 sending from the processing center the invention disclosure to the selected patent agent having no subject matter conflict with a request for a set of claims. 
 
     
     
         7 . A method as set forth in  claim 4  further comprising;
 assigning and storing an inventor identification to and with successive inventors, 
 storing and controlling the patent computer program with the data processing center, 
 receiving at the processing center via the internet a request for a set of claims from an inventor, 
 maintaining an inventor data base on a computer by the processing center including a list of inventors and assigned inventor identification, and 
 maintaining a conflict data base on a computer by the processing center including the initial subject matter classification number stored with each inventor identification. 
 
     
     
         8 . A method for an inventor and patent agent to collaborate in preparing a patent application comprising;
 embedding a template setting forth sections of a patent application in a patent computer program including a prior art section designated Field of the Invention and Description of the Prior Art and a summary section designated SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION and a description section designated DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ENABLING EMBODIMENT and a claims section designated CLAIMS,   embedding code in the computer program for recognizing the coded phrase “characterized by” and any portion thereof for identifying and moving limitations in subparagraphs of the independent broad claim into different sections of the template,   drafting a set of claims in the CLAIMS section of the template including a first broad claim reciting at least one supporting limitation recited in a subparagraph after the coded phrase “characterized by” and at least one concluding limitation recited in subparagraphs before the coded phrase “characterized by” and successive claims dependent on the first broad claim with each dependent claim reciting an additional limitation and an independent picture claim containing in subparagraphs all of the same verbiage used in the first broad and dependent claims,   embedding a code in the computer program for automatically reconciling the preamble of the picture claim with the Field of the Invention,   operating the patent computer program to copy all of the sub-paragraphs of the picture claim and paste only the sub paragraphs of the picture claim into respective paragraphs of the description section DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ENABLING EMBODIMENT of the template,   operating the patent computer program to recognize the coded phrase “characterized by” and to copy the at least one supporting limitation recited before the coded phrase of the first broad claim and paste only the at least one supporting limitation into the section Description of the Prior Art of the template,   operating the patent computer program to recognize the coded phrase “characterized by” and copy the at least one concluding limitation recited after the coded phrase “characterized by” of the first broad claim and paste the at least one concluding limitation into the summary section SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION of the template,   operating a data processing center and establishing a link over the internet between an inventor and an patent agent both independent of the processing center,   storing and controlling the patent computer program with the data processing center,   receiving at the processing center via the internet a request for a set of claims from an inventor,   receiving at the processing center via the internet an invention disclosure including the results of any patentability search from the inventor,   assigning and storing an inventor identification to and with successive inventors,   maintaining an inventor data base on a computer by the processing center including a list of inventors with the associated inventor identification,   receiving at the processing center a payment via the internet from the inventor and acceptance of a contract between the inventor and the processing center in which the processing center agrees to provide a set of claims and access to a version of the patent computer program for use by the inventor for final editing of the application,   accessing a patent office classification system dividing technology by numbers into classes and sub-classes of technology and indicating the subject matter to be found in and excluded from a class and sub-class,   assigning each invention disclosure received from an inventor an initial subject matter classification number and storing the initial subject matter classification number with the inventor identification in a computer at the processing center,   maintaining a conflict data base on a computer by the processing center including the initial subject matter classification number associated with each inventor identification,   maintaining a patent agent data base on a computer by the processing center including a patent agent identification and an association identification for each patent agent to identify patent agents associated in and with the same business association,   inserting a subject matter classification number with each patent agent identification in the patent agent data base for each set of claims prepared by that patent agent for the processing center,   inserting a subject matter classification number with each association identification in the patent agent data base for each set of claims prepared by every patent agent identification in the same association of patent agents,   selecting a patent agent from the patent agent data base for processing the inventor disclosure and preparing the set of claims,   conducting a conflict check for that selected patent agent by scanning the patent agent identification and association identification in the patent agent data base for a match between the initial subject matter classification number of the invention disclosure and all of the patent agent subject matter classification numbers assigned to the patent agent and the patent agent's association to avoid a subject matter conflict between inventors,   sending from the processing center the invention disclosure to the selected patent agent having no subject matter conflict with a request for a set of claims,   accepting a contract between the processing center and the selected patent agent to prepare a set of claims based upon the invention disclosure,   receiving from the selected patent agent the set of claims including the first broad claim reciting the at least one concluding limitation recited after the coded phrase “characterized by” and the at least one supporting limitation recited before the coded phrase “characterized by” and the successive claims dependent on the first broad claim and the independent picture claim containing all of the same verbiage used in the first broad and dependent claims and partial sections of the patent application including the Description of the Prior Art section of the template reciting the at least one supporting limitation and the SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION section of the template reciting the at least one concluding limitation and the DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ENABLING EMBODIMENT section of the template reciting the independent picture claim containing all of the same verbiage used in the broad and dependent claims and a patent agent subject matter classification number,   reconciling the initial subject matter classification number associated with each inventor identification to agree with the patent agent subject matter classification number from the patent agent,   providing the inventor an inventor-computer word processing program,   sending via the internet from the processing center the set of claims and partial sections of the patent application in and with the inventor-computer word processing program,   operating the inventor-computer word processing program by the inventor to apply a reference numeral to an element and automatically associate that reference numeral with all occurrences of the element in the description section and format the entire application to predetermined requirements and complete and draft the advantages and abstract sections,   embedding a computer coded connection between the inventor-computer word processing program and the set of claims and partial sections sent to the inventor for preventing use of the inventor-computer word processing program with documents other than the sent set of claims and partial sections of the patent application, and   the embedding a computer coded connection being further defined as disabling the use of the inventor-computer word processing program in response to the set of claims being changed more than a predetermined percentage.